Time Stretches Thin, Both Ways
by Charna
Summary: YYH mets an antisocial girl who can see the dead...i suck summaries...i'll change this when i actually have a plot
1. Transfer Student

Disclaimer: I don't own any Yu Yu Hakusho character! It would be really nice to, but I don't! I do own however, Kairos…she's my character! Nor do I own _Rise & Fall _by Craig David, and _Still Frame_ by Trapt.

Author's Note: I don't feel like making the YYH characters go to different Japanese schools and so they are now in the same school in America…it's a PUBLIC SCHOOL! So SSHH! Oh, yeah…the gang is in eleventh grade in HS.

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Chapter 1 – Transfer Student

            Kairos got off the horrible yellow school bus and onto the even more terrible school grounds. Her CD player blasted into her ears and she was happy for the fact that she had something that she was used to with her. It was a beautiful autumn day, but it was also the first day of school, and Kairos' first day in a new school _again_. Just about everyone else was having a great time catching up with old friends, and chattering into the school building. Kairos hitched her black messenger bag higher on her shoulder and walked slowly into the school building. It reeked of the smelled of paint, new tiles, and something along the lines of musty books. Kairos trudged silently into the cafeteria that contained all the eleventh graders going to the school. The place was packed with students and Kairos found a quiet place, detached from the crowds by the windows. Thoughts of her older brother's death flooded into her mind, but she pushed them back before tears formed. She closed her eyes and breathed, trying to clear her thoughts. When the bell rang, she walked off into homeroom, and sat in the back behind a boy with slicked back black hair.

            "You hear bout the new kid?" Slicked-Hair asked his friends sitting around him.

            "I think the 'new kid' is sitting right behind you Yusuke," a boy with long red hair replied.

            "Yeah, nice going Urameshi…call the new kid names," a boy with hair styled almost like Elvis, but much pointier said.

            "Oh, shut up that both of you!" Yusuke said. Yusuke turned around in his seat to face Kairos. She turned her face to face him, and pulled the headphones down from her ears. "Didn't mean to call you _new kid_. It's just a habit I have."

            "A bad one at that," a girl with an English accent and blue hair interjected.

            "Oh, be quiet Botan," Yusuke said with a hint understanding.

            "It doesn't matter, happens all the time," Kairos replied and pulled her headphones back on. She began to mouth the words to the songs that played and stared out the window. A hand shook her shoulder and she turned to face the person. The boy with the Elvis-like hair was jostling her shoulder. "What?"

            "Just thought I'd introduce myself, I'm Kuwabara," he said proudly.

            "And I should this why?" Kairos asked staring through Kuwabara. Before Kuwabara had a chance to replied Kairos put on her headphones again. She mouthed to Craig David's _Rise & Fall_ before the teacher walked in.

            "Class," the teacher, who had blonde hair and a stupid accent, said. "You in the back, please take off the headphones and pay attention," she waited a moment to see whether Kairos had heard but found she hadn't. "Uh, Kuwabara can you get that girl to pay attention?"

            Kuwabara shook Kairos' shoulder again, and she pulled down her headphones. "What do you want now?" she asked as Kuwabara pointed to the teacher at the front of the room.

            "Are you finished now?" the teacher asked and Kairos nodded. "Good, then maybe I can begin roll call." The teacher called off names of the students and Kairos barely paid attention. All she caught was that the girl with blue hair and the English accent was Botan Vian, and the girl with brown hair who sat next to Yusuke was Kayko Nuru. The boy with the red Elvis-like hair was Kuwabara Kazuina, the boy with red hair and green eyes that had pointed out that Kairos was behind Yusuke was named Shuichi Minamino, and a boy with black hair and a white bandana thing across his forehead was Hiei Pyralis. When the teacher said Kairos' name she just raised her hand and then teacher said, "So…you're the new student that just transferred?"

            "Yes," Kairos said in a flat voice.

            "Why don't you tell the class about yourself?" the teacher asked, acting perky.

            Sighing, Kairos spoke, "My na–"

            The teacher cut her short by saying, "Why don't you stand up and introduce yourself?"

            _Yeah, and why don't you shut the hell up? _Kairos thought bitterly as she stood up. "My name is Kairos, I just transferred here." She sat back down and the teacher spoke again.

            "Tell us a little more about yourself, like what other schools you've been to?"

            "Way to many to count."

            "How many times have you moved?"

            "More than you, obviously," and she heard the class snicker at her remark.

            "Settle down! Ok, Kairos then what are some of your favorite things?"

            "Favorite things…a teacher who doesn't pry into other people's lives would be one, and for a teacher to get the picture after they've been shot down a few times would be another," the class burst out laughing at Kairos' bold remarks and Kairos met the teacher's look. Kairos silently challenged the teacher to make a comeback, and she thought the teacher recognized the challenge that flared in her eyes.

            The teacher cleared her throat and resumed to the normal homeroom procedures. Yusuke turned around and smiled at Kairos. "That's a first…I've never seen someone talk back to the teacher like that."

            "That's nice," Kairos said in a flat voice again. Papers were being handed back along the rows and Kairos skimmed the papers over quickly and shoved the papers into her bag. She took out her schedule and glanced at what she had for first period.

            "You guys have specials next period, for those whose last name begin with A to M, will go to tech. ed. first, and those N to Z will go to home ec. That shouldn't be too hard," the teacher said. Kairos noticed that a name was scrawled on the board. _Ms. Raynen._ Kairos thought that it was the name of the teacher and didn't pay any mind to it. 

            The bell rang and everyone left the room. Kairos pulled out a map of the school building and walked a few corridors away to the tech. ed. rooms. She sat down in the main room, with chairs and computers, in a little alcove between the television and the windows. She saw students filing into the room talking with each other and saw the boy…Shuichi walk in. _Isn't that the kid who hangs out with Yusuke?_ She thought as he walked towards her.

            "Is this seat taken?" he asked Kairos.

            "No," Kairos replied and pulled her legs off the chair next to her.

            "Hi, my name is Shuichi Minamino," he introduced himself and held out a hand.

            "Kairos, I dropped my last name," she extended out her hand to his and saw out of the corner of her eye, a flash of Elvis-like hair. "What's with your hair?" she asked when Kuwabara came into view.

            "You got a problem with it?" Kuwabara stated sounding offended.

            "You think bout it," Kairos said to him. She thought she saw him stuck out his tongue before she looked at what Shuichi was talking about.

            "Do you always make friends this way?" Shuichi asked.

            "Actually in the past I've never had friends," Kairos replied acting as though it wasn't a big deal. "God, I'm used to it," she added when she saw Kuwabara and Shuichi look at one another. "There's nothing wrong with being a loner, quit looking at me like I'm insane."

            The both of them quit staring at Kairos and Shuichi spoke up, "We're only looking at you strangely because…well we're used to being with people that have…_friends_. And well, you seem like someone who could blend in with a crowd quickly, so we would have thought that you had friends."

            "Screw the explanation, I really don't need it," Kairos said as the teacher walked into the room.

            "Ok, we're heading down to the computer labs…come on," the teacher ordered.

            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *           

            Later that day during flex the students were sent back to homeroom, and the gang met up again. "Hey, Urameshi, you know the new kid…Kairos?" Kuwabara asked before Kairos entered the room.

            "Yeah, Kuwabara, she's the only one that would talk back to a teacher like that. Why wouldn't I?" Yusuke replied with some joy in his voice.

            "Yeah, well do you know that she doesn't have friends?" Kuwabara whispered as Kairos walked into the room.

            "Why does it matter? She doesn't have friends…big whoop!" Yusuke throw his hands in the air to exaggerate how much he was supposed to care about the topic. Kayko, who was sitting in front of Yusuke, waved Kairos over to their little area in the back left hand corner. "Kayko!"

            "What?! She doesn't have any friends, I think that maybe we should be her friends," Kayko said sounding a little bit guilty.

            "Kayko don't sound guilty, you have done anything to her yet!" Yusuke practically shouted.

            "I'm not feeling guilty, I actually feel a little bit sorry for her, I mean she's all alone," Kayko explained as Kairos walked up to them.

            "Yes?" Kairos said, shifting foot to foot. She obviously wasn't used to being near a crowd like theirs, even if it was a _small_ crowd.

            "Why don't you sit with us Kairos?!" Botan was practically beaming now.

            "Yeah, sit next to me," Kayko moved over one seat and Kairos just stood there, blinking at the girl. "Sit!" Kayko pulled down on Kairos' left arm and practically dragged her into the seat between her and Shuichi.

            "Uh, ok," Kairos uttered as she plopped down into the seat. "Why exactly did you drag me over here?"

            "Cause we wanted you to sit with us!" Botan was literally beaming.

            "Okk…" Kairos said turning around. When she saw Hiei, Yusuke, and Kuwabara she turned around again. _Kayko really put me in a seat where I can't see anything, without seeing them first…this is going to be a long period._ Kairos thought as she placed her in chin into her right palm.

            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *           

            At the end of the day when Yusuke and gang were departing, they noticed Kairos just a little way away from them. Yusuke, and Hiei had noticed Kairos in their social studies class but made no move to try to befriend her the entire class period. Now, Kayko was pushing Yusuke over to Kairos. Hiei was following them just to laugh at what Kayko was going to make Yusuke do.

            "Hey, Kairos," Yusuke said trying to act tough.

            Kairos pulled down her headphones, and looked at Yusuke. She blinked, almost as though she was just registering the fact that Yusuke was standing right in front of her. "Hey," she left the headphones hanging around her neck but turned the must up more. The song _Still Frame _by Trapt blasted through the headphones.

            "Nice music," Yusuke said not knowing what to say exactly.

            "Yeah…whatever," Kairos said, looking away from Yusuke. Her face went dreadfully white, and Yusuke touched her shoulder. Kairos jumped from Yusuke's touched, and looked at him. 

            He withdrew his hand and asked, "What happened to you?" Kairos saw concern in his eyes but she couldn't remember who he was for the moment. "Your face lost all color, and it looked like you zoned out."

            "It's nothing…I just thought I saw something…" Kairos said, regaining composure. _I thought I saw my brother again…but this time he was cut and bleeding everywhere._ Kairos thought as she heard Kayko call her name.

            "Kairos, do you want to come over my house?" Kayko asked as a bus pulled up. "Everyone else is, and I think it'll be good for you."

            "Uh, sure. I guess, I really don't have anything else to do anyway," Kairos said before she even knew the words had left her mouth. Actually, Kairos didn't know what she _was_ doing at the moment. Her feet climbed aboard the bus after Kayko, and sat down near the back of the bus with everyone else. She sat by the window, pulled on her headphones, and watched everything roll by the window.


	2. The Spirits in Kuwabara's Home

Disclaimer: I don't own any Yu Yu Hakusho character! It would be really nice to, but I don't! I do own however, Kairos…she's my character! Along with the ghosts!

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Chapter 2 – The Spirits in Kuwabara's Home

            Kairos felt a tug on her left sleeve and looked to see what it was. Shuichi was sitting next to her, and he was motioning her to take off the headphones. "What?" she asked when the headphones rested around her neck.

            "We're getting off," he stated as he grabbed his bag. She pulled the headphones back on and walked off after everyone else.

            "I would have thought one of you guys would have had a driver's license," Kairos said when the bus rolled away.

            "Hiei does, but his car is in the shop. Kuwabara does too, but he drives like a manic and currently has his license suspended," Kayko said. "Yusuke just doesn't have a car, Botan, Shuichi, and I still have to wait to take the test," she said sighing.

            "No, Botan has to take it again. She's not young to take it," Yusuke said. "She failed the first time she took it. Both the written and the actual driving," Kairos looked at Yusuke and then at Botan.

            "I DID NOT FAIL THE DRIVING PORTION!" Botan screamed.

            "Yeah, you just almost killed bystanders," Hiei said under his breath. Kairos sighed and regretted trying to ask a single question. Kuwabara walked up to the door of the home the bus had stopped in front of and opened the door.

            _I'm going to regret asking this._ Kairos thought. "I thought we were heading to Kayko's house," Kairos asked as she saw Kuwabara walk inside the home.

            "We will, it's just that Kuwabara forgot his sleep bag," Botan called over her shoulder as she walked into the home.

            "Sleeping bag?" Kairos asked blinking.

            "Oh, I guess we never told you. Ever since we met in the eighth grade, we've had an annual sleep over at someone's house. This year it's Kayko's," Botan explained motioning for Kairos to come in. The instant Kairos walked into Kuwabara's home she was overcome with a powerful surge of dead emotions. Kairos had the ability to see, communicate, and interact with spirits. She discovered that when she was five years old when she was with her older brother and they were in the forest. They were playing and all of a sudden, Kairos had run off following a little girl with curly blonde hair, wearing a white dress deeper into the forest. No one knew what Kairos was mumbling about until her parents followed Kairos into the forest. They had found the little girl's dead mangled body lying on the riverbed, and her parents had freaked out about what Kairos had found. Even despite the fact that Kairos told her parents numerous times, that she saw the little girl, and that the little girl had told her to follow. Kairos' parents just weren't the type of people to take the explanation as reality. Shortly following that they sent Kairos to a mental institute and it was there that her powers developed farther than they would have normally. The only reason was because the institute was originally a gallows and that the place contained the dead spirits of the patients who died there.

            Kairos rested her right hand against the inside of the doorframe, and with her left, she tried to support her head. The rush of emotions and spirits in his home was overwhelming her. She bent her right arm and slid down to the ground trying to gather her bearings. Through her closed eyelids, she saw faint images of spirits wandering back and forth.

            "Kairos?" the voice was faint and echoed through her chaotic mind. "Are you alright?" she opened her eyes and only saw blurred figures that she could only guess who they were. "Are you alright?" the voice was more urgent now, and Kairos tried to determine whose blurred figure knelt before her. "Kairos?"

            Pain splintered through her mind and she screamed. Her mind couldn't take the invasion of spirits that pounded against her mind. She heard numerous voices screaming through her mind telling her to kill someone or something. She heard others screaming for help, and she desperately wanted them all to leave her mind. Kairos felt something splice through her mind and her head snapped up. Her gold eyes turned into a blank and empty amethyst. She faintly heard people screaming her name as she was dragged deeper into the dark recesses of her mind.

            _"Chantrea!" screamed a deep, slurring male voice. "Get your lazy fucking ass over here!" I cowered in the corner. "I said get you damn ass over here!" he shouted and hurled a half empty bottle of beer towards me. The bottle smashed into the wall a little way to the right of her right ear. It shattered into thousands of tiny shards and a few of the shards sliced through her skin. Blood slowly poured out of the small wounds as I stared at the man I called my father._

            "Kurama, what's wrong with her?" Kayko asked concern and fear filled her eyes as she stared at Kairos' lifeless body.

            "She seems to be in a comatose-like state," Kurama replied to his worried friend. "Kuwabara, do you know what could have caused this to her?"

            "Why are you asking me?" Kuwabara asked almost offended.

            "Because this is you house, you imbecile," Hiei stated starting to get ticked off with Kuwabara's stupidity.

            "Oh," Kuwabara said blushing a bit. "Well this house _is_ full of spirits, and not all of them are friendly," he offered helplessly.

            "But, we never sensed that she had powers, or any spirit energy," Yusuke interjected.

            "Yusuke…do you remember the Toguro brothers?" Botan said. "Not to mention that they didn't seem to have any spirit energy but ended up having it," Yusuke nodded slightly and watched as Kurama lifted Kairos onto a couch. "Kurama…" Yusuke was pointing to Kairos' face and right side, which had the somehow gotten cut.

            "What the…" Kurama allowed the sentence to trail off as he stared at her bleeding face and side.

_            "Chantrea!" he screamed again. I continued to cower in the corner, for I knew what my father could do to me in a drunken rage. Even though I knew better, and should have gotten up from where I was in the first place. "Girl! You're asking for it!" He stumbled as he got up from his seat. I knew exactly what I was about to get for not going over to him. I had refused so many times in the past and I had received a horrible beating. The bruises that run along my arms, ribs, and legs can vouch for me. "You lazy ass, you're supposed to do as your told. NOT do whatever you wish!" He was less than a foot away from me, and I could smell the horrible stench of alcohol on his breath. I tucked away whatever sanity I had left deep within my mind the moment I felt his fists connect with my shoulder. He then picked my up by my collar and waved me around in the air. "You've been a naughty girl, and naughty girls need to be taught a lesson," I felt his right hand connect with my right cheek and then flail back again slapping my left cheek. He hurled me across the room and I landed with the small of my back colliding with the corner of the coffee table._

_            A slight whimper escapes my lips, and I finger the wound from my back. When I pull my fingers to the front of my face, I noticed blood on the tips. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw my father coming towards me again. I tried to stand but found the small cut from the table caused me to lean up against it. He swung his right hand in a drunken round punch and I ducked as I slowly maneuvered myself into my room. My legs were already weak from my previous beating just a few hours ago. But I willed them to carry my into my room where I could lock him out._

             In complete awe as the group, back in Kuwabara's home, watches as Kairos lifts herself shakily off the couch. Her eyes still contain the blank amethyst look, and they all notice the blood that has stained the small of her back. "Kairos?" Kayko whispers as she walks by her, half limping, half struggling. They all saw Kairos' body jerk, and her head swing when she rested on the couch. They all saw the blood on her fingertips when she walked by each of them. "Kairos?" Kayko said louder this time, but she still didn't hear. "You guys do something!" she pleaded to Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei as she watched Kairos dragging herself along the wall, down the hall.

            Yusuke and Kuwabara dashed down the hall to Kairos and Yusuke shook Kairos violently. But she didn't even blink, instead she had her body thrown against the opposite wall by some unknown force.

            "Kuwabara," Kurama said from the living room. "What _kinds_ of spirits live here?"

            "Uhh…" he replied dumfounded. "Some peaceful ones, and maybe three, four violent ones," Kuwabara's face dropped when he finished his sentence. "Oh no…you don't think that she accidentally made contact with some of the violent ones do you?"

            Kurama didn't reply but walked down the hall with Hiei. Yusuke backed away from Kairos and she continued to struggle down the hall. "Kuwabara, do you know what happened to the violent spirits in their time?"

            "No, I never talked to them…they creeped me out," Kuwabara admitted feeling just a tidbit embarrassed. "I just know that there used to be two crazy, homicidal old ladies, an abusive father that killed his son and _almost_ killed his daughter, and some woman who used to kill people for fun."

            "This can't be good!" Yusuke practically shouted. "What are we going to do?! We've got Kairos is some la-la land and we don't know how to get her out!"

            "We should just let her do whatever, and leave her," Hiei stated turning around.

            "But what happens if she is being possessed by one of the victims, Hiei?" Kurama asked looking at Kairos leaving some blood on the wall.

            "You just can't leave her like that!" Botan protested to Hiei's comment. "Kurama has a point, if she was the daughter that almost _died_…" Botan didn't finish her sentence, and watched as Kairos was flung backwards a couple of yards from where she was. Kairos hit the wall behind Botan and sprawled out on the floor.

            _"Urgh," I muttered moaning. My entire body ached. My father had tossed me across the house again and caused my body to hit the wall. I knew that my head wound from a few days ago had reopened again. I could already feel the blood trickling down the back of my skull. I was only a meter away from the bedroom door when my father caught hold of me. Now I had another option. Which was to run out of the room through the front door, and if that fails, I'll think of another possibility later. I heard my father's angered footsteps charging across the room, and I felt his hands jerk my hair and head backwards. I let out a scream, for I could feel his fingers digging deeper into the, already, broken and bleeding scalp. "Please, let go," I pleaded to him. But only earned a quick yank of my hair. "Please…" I was barely able to choke it out between my sobs. The pain I have taken in the past week has been the worst so far, and I knew that if I wasn't careful then I was going to find myself dead. Just like my older brother, Ravi, had died earlier this month. "Dad, please let go," he released my hair. Though I relished this moment of joy, I suddenly felt his fingers close around my throat. My air supply was being cut off quickly. I knew that he had lifted me off the ground slightly and was now trying to strangle me. Desperately, I tried clawing out of his grip. I thrashed my legs trying to kick him, and I knew tried to tear out his eyes. My vision was becoming hazy with black edges._

_            "Kairos!" I knew I was hallucinating, I don't even know anyone by the name of Kairos. But the voices kept on frantically repeating to name. Perhaps Kairos is the name of a neighbor, but I felt a tug on my mind. It was shutting down, and I had not taken a breath for a minute or so. My mind was telling me that I wasn't going to be able to take anymore of this, and that I was going to fall unconscious soon. But I could hear the eerie call of death for me, just waiting, holding my hand as my father's grip around my neck tightened._

"KAIROS!" Everyone, except Hiei, screamed at Kairos' floating body. Her arms and legs thrashed violently, and they could see finger marks circling her neck.

            "What are we going to do?!" Kayko said hysterically.

            "I wonder…" Botan said walking towards Kairos. She lifted her fingers to Kairos' neck, and felt the pressure of fingers around it. Up close she could also see Kairos desperately trying to breath. "I think she's being strangled by something."

            "Kuwabara," Yusuke said turning towards him. "WHAT THE HELL KIND OF GHOSTS DO YOU HAVE LIVING HERE!?!?!?!?!?!" he screamed at Kuwabara at the top of his lungs.

            "Obviously murderous ones, Yusuke," Hiei answered staring at Kairos' floating body. "She's going to die pretty soon," Hiei stated examining the way her body was slowly going limp, and how her struggling seemed to have slowed.

            "Hiei's right," Botan added. She lifted Kairos' hand and checked out pulse. Botan straightened rigidly. The color drained from her face as she witnessed what was happening to Kairos. Kayko and Yusuke rushed to Botan's side and pulled her away from Kairos.

            "Botan, what's wrong?" Kayko asked, checking her forehead. "You don't have a temperature."

            "Kairos…" she muttered with a vacant look. "A man is strangling her, no…not Kairos but someone else," Botan trailed off trying to organize the thoughts running through her mind. "He wasn't strangling Kairos he was strangling his daughter," she uttered staring at Kairos' body becoming still. "We have to help her," she stated moving towards her.

            "I don't think so Botan, we don't want you going all still on us again," Yusuke said pulling her away from Kairos and sitting her on the couch. "We're going to handle Kairos. You and Kayko stay away from her," he turned around and took Kayko to the couch and ordered them to stay put. "OK…so how are we suppose to help her?"

            "Well, Botan was able to see what was happening to her when she touched Kairos' hand," Kurama stated walking closer to her. "Maybe one of us should try what Botan did," he lifted his hand up to touch her wrist but stopped. "But which one?"

            "I'll do it," Yusuke stated walking up to Kurama.

            "I will too," Kuwabara added faking much more bravado than was necessary.

            "We don't need both of you doing the same thing right now," Kurama said.

            "We don't need two dead humans on our hands," Hiei grumbled walking closer to Kairos. Her body was practically still, and could have been mistaken for dead if she was seen from faraway. She gasped now, trying to take in whatever air she could.

            _I could barely feel his fingers around my neck now. My mind has been numb for so long, and I lost feeling to the rest of my body just recently. I can hear faint voices talking about something, but those voices get fainter by the second. I know that I'm going to die soon, and that when I do I won't mind. The things that I didn't do in this life, I'll do in the next. The few, precious, joyous memories I have I shared with my deceased family and friends. M body hit the floor, and my life flashes before me eyes. I heard that just before you die you watch your whole life over again and now I guess I'm going to die. I can see myself as an infant, followed by toddler. All the bad memories that I have are avoided, which pleases me, and I see a boy. No, not a boy, a male in his teens in front of me. He's appears almost as a ghost, but something in my mind tells me that I once knew him._

_            "Kairos?" his voice is faint, just like his red hair, green eyes, and pale skin. I smile thinking that this angel has come to take me to heaven. "Kairos?" he voice is caring and urgent. "I need you to wake up," he said staring around my home. "You're going to die if you don't."_

_            "I don't mind…I actually want to…there's nothing here in this world for me anymore," I replied to his demand. "I just want to lay down and die, close my eyes and rest."_

_            "Don't, I need you to wake up. Just open your eyes and wake up," he was holding onto my shoulder and shaking me. It was the same motion my father does to me, but differently. Whenever my father shakes me, he does it in a way letting me know that he was angered. This guy, however, is shaking me almost as though he really wanted me to live. "Get up, wake up, and live," he demanded lightly. She felt electricity thunder through her, and she could barely tell whether she was alive or dead. But she knew that she had lost consciousness, and maybe death would come next._

            Kurama released Kairos' wrist and check her pulse. He only tried to contact her when she fell to the ground beside him. He concentrated on her pulse for a little bit and then knew that she was back to normal. She groaned and stirred a bit on the floor, trying to get up. She tried to lift herself by propping her arms up but collapsed. "Here," Kurama lifted Kairos up from the floor and leaned her back against the wall. "How are you feeling?" he asked tentatively, examining the bruises that ran along her arms.

            "Like hell," she replied withdrawing her arms away from him. She rolled her head against the wall and quickly regretted it. "Ow," she lifted her right arm up to her scalp, and withdrew her fingers. She could feel the warm blood still gushing out of the wound. "Shit."

            "Kuwabara, do you have a first aid kit?" Kayko asked getting up from her seat on the coach. He nodded and retreated down the hall to get it. "Do you know what happened?"

            Kairos hesitated before answering but locked eyes with Kayko. "No, I don't," she shook her head and closed her eyes almost as though she was trying to figure it out. _I knew exactly what happened actually Kayko, I just don't trust you._ Kairos thought as Kayko tilted Kairos' head towards her. "I'll be fine. I don't need you guys fussing over me," Kairos said starting to get ticked off.

            "Just let me bandage you up, Kurama pass me the scissors," Kayko pointed to the scissors laying besides Kurama.

            "Who's Kurama?" Kairos asked. She noticed Kayko blush crimson.

            "Best way _not_ to tell people real names, huh?" Yusuke whispered into Kayko's ear snobbishly rubbing it in.

            "Shut up!" She hissed at him and then turned to Kairos. "Shuichi's nickname is Kurama," she said desperately trying to cover for her mistake. Kairos glared at her and turned to Kurama who had spoken up.

            "Yes, well if you wish you can call me Kurama also," he said with a slight chuckle. He handed the scissors to Kayko and she bandaged up Kairos. "Now that this event is over, why don't we head to Kayko's place?"

            "Oh, I still have to get my sleeping bag," Kuwabara added racing down the hall, presumably to get his sleeping bag. A moment later Kuwabara returned holding a bag with clothes in it, and a sleeping bag underneath his arm. "Now, I'm ready."

            "Kairos," Kayko turned to face her again. "Do you need anything?" she asked politely.

            Kairos shrugged and replied, "I have no clue whether I'm going to stay all night."

            "You have to!" Botan halfway ordered and insisted. "It's really fun, trust me."

            "I can lend you some clothes if you want," Kayko added.

            Kairos examined Kayko and then said, "I'm taller than you."

            "So?" Kayko asked missing Kairos' point.

            "I'm taller than you, which would mean that your clothes would be shorter than my leg or arm length," she stated clearly. She even stood up and dragged Kayko with her to illustrate her point.

            "Oh," Kayko said after she lifted her head and noticed that Kairos was about seven inches taller than her, with Kayko standing at 5'4" and Kairos at 5'11". "Then why don't we go to your place and get some stuff?"

            "Yes, that's an excellent idea Kayko!" Botan added clapping her hands together. Sighing Kairos said nothing. She had some objections but didn't state them, she knew that trying to ignore the two wouldn't get her anywhere. Not to mention that they wouldn't stop bugging her until she caved in, and so she thought better now than later. Therefore, the gang walked out of Kuwabara's home and onto the street with Kairos wearing a navy baseball cap on her head to hide the bandages, all heading towards Kairos' home. 


	3. Point the Finger

Disclaimer: I don't own any Yu Yu Hakusho character! It would be really nice to, but I don't! I do own however, Kairos…she's my character! Along with the ghosts!

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Chapter 3 – Point the Finger

            "Do you _have_ to live on the other end of town?!" Yusuke complained.

            "Do you have to complain?" Kairos asked in reply. "You're giving me a headache!"

            "Well, I wouldn't be complaining if we didn't have to walk to your house on the other end of town!" he shot back.

            "Yes, well," Kairos began. "If you girlfriend and her friend didn't beg me into it you wouldn't be." She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Yusuke turn beet red.

            "Kayko is NOT my girlfriend!" Yusuke shouted still blushing. "We've been friends ever since we were young and that's all we're ever going to be!"

            "Oh, is that so," Kairos said with a little bit of sarcasm in her voice. "Then did you start blushing when I said that she was your girlfriend? Not to mention, the fact that I didn't say Kayko's name, _you_ did. I never brought her into this, all I did was refer to both Kayko _and _Botan. _You_ were the one who choose Kayko's name out of the two."

            "Oh, she got you there, Urameshi!" Kuwabara said laughing. "Who would have thought that you'd get stumped by a girl!"

            "I didn't stump him Kuwabara," Kairos said speaking to him. "I only led him into saying who he liked."

            "I NEVER SAID I LIKED KAYKO!" Yusuke shouted still blushing.

            "You're still blushing," Kairos replied plainly. Kairos caught sight of Kayko turning her face away from her line of sight. Kairos picked up her pace away from Yusuke and walked in stride with Kayko. "Hey, so what do you think?"

            "What do you mean?" Kayko asked slightly pink.

            "You know what I mean, and I think you like it," Kairos replied. Before Kayko could protest in what Kairos had just said, Kairos added, "If not, then why are you blushing too?" Kayko didn't reply to Kairos' last question but stared at the ground, her face getting a deeper shade of red by the second. "That was easy," Kairos said stretching her arms out.

            "That was cruel," Botan said.

            "How?" Kairos asked.

            "You did that on purpose!" Botan shouted back.

            "You sure?" Kairos looked at Botan and practically saw Botan's mind working as quickly as it could to get an answer back. "For all you know Yusuke got me started."

            "No! You said girlfriend to him!" Botan said pointing at Kairos.

            "Yes, I did. But I never did say a name or point my finger at anyone," Kairos stated plainly. "Besides, here's my place." Kairos stopped and looked at the house that stood before them. It was a creamy white color, with two floors not including the visible basement and attic. She walked up the steps and unlocked the door. "I'll be right back," Kairos uttered as she walked through the door and slammed it shut. A few moments later, she came back out with a bag in hand. "Well?" she asked.

            "What?" Kayko responded.

            "Are we going back to your place?" Kairos said practically sighing out the question.

            "Oh, yes," Kayko said turning around. "I know a short-cut to get to my place from here." She motioned them to follow her as she began to walk briskly down the street. Slowly everyone began to follow Kayko as she faded into the distance.

                         *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *                       

            "That was some short cut!" Yusuke shouted. "Drag us in a circle around town before we end up here!"

            "Do you _always_, complain?!" Kairos shouted at him. "Every time you open your mouth I swear I want to hit you!" she heard Kuwabara laugh aloud and Kurama try to hide his laughter.

            "Yeah, well get in line," Yusuke stated.

            "How bout not?" Kairos asked Yusuke standing right in front of him.

            "Wah? How?" Yusuke asked dumbfounded by the fact that she was a few feet behind him and was now suddenly walking in front of him. "How did you get in front of me so quickly?" he asked her.

            "How can you be so annoying?" Kairos shot back. Yusuke shrugged and Kairos looked at him almost as though she would withdraw a butcher's knife and slit his throat any minute. "You just _enjoy_ getting on peoples' nerves, huh?"

            "Yep," Yusuke stated proudly. "That's how I practically make my living."

            "Advice to you," Kairos said. "Watch out who you annoy, there's some people that you just wouldn't want to annoy too much."

            "And what's that suppose to mean?" Yusuke asked as Kairos turned around.

            "Exactly what I said," Kairos stated.

            "Yeah, and what was that?" Yusuke shouted.

            "That some people would kill you where you stand if you annoyed them too much," Kairos stated plainly for him.

            "What? Are you the type of person to do that?" Yusuke asked.

            "Who knows?" Kairos stated lightly and stretched out her arms. "For all you know, I might be a homicidal manic that just broke out of a mental institute."

            "A what?" Yusuke asked.

            "You are a serious moron," Kairos stated.

            "AM NOT!" Yusuke countered.

            "Yes, well," Kairos mumbled. "I'm not going to get into a stupid 'Am not!' 'Am too!' argument with you Yusuke. You're just not with it."

            "Thtt was the first time that I've seen Urameshi get dissed so quickly," Kuwabara said.

            "Kuwabara," Kairos began. "Do you mind if I call you Kuwabaka from no on?" Everyone else except Kuwabara and Kairos began to laugh. Kuwabara was turning bright red and Kairos was smirking at him.

            "NO" Kuwabara shouted, holding a fist in the air.

            "Ok, then," Kairos said. "How about Kuwa?" she asked holding a finger in the air, hearing everyone else break into a fresh wave of laughter.

            "NO! Where do you get those nicknames anyway?" Kuwabara asked.

            "I've got my sources," Kairos stated.

            "Well," Yusuke said patting Kuwabara's back with excessive force. "That was faster than what she did to me!"

            "Neither of you two should be proud of that," Kairos said. "Though, then again…I doubt either of you two have _anything_ to be proud of."

            "What? Do you make fun of the two for fun?" Kayko asked Kairos.

            Kairos sighed thinking about how to respond to her. "Well, I guess I do. It's such a soothing hobby, and I don't even have to think about what to say." Kairos smiled and felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She turned to see who it was and saw Kurama.

            "I don't think you should get the two mad or anything," he whispered.

            "And why not?" Kairos asked. "They gonna beat me up? I'd just like to see them try."

            "Who said we wouldn't?!" Yusuke shouted.

            "I'm two feet away, don't SHOUT!" Kairos yelled.

            "Well," Kuwabara said suddenly shy. "I wouldn't hurt her. You know me, I would never hit a girl." Kairos' ears perked up and she turned around smiling like a fox.

            "Really?" Kairos asked slyly. "You would _never_ hit a girl?" Kuwabara smiled and nodded proudly. "Well then, let us test that then." Moments later Kairos punched Kuwabara's gut and heard Hiei make a sound of approval. "So," Kairos said. "You gonna punch me or something?" Kuwabara shook his head and Kairos kicked his side. "Now?" He didn't move and she jump kicked his face. "Now?" Then Kuwabara shot upwards and stared hard at Kairos.

            "I said I would never hit a girl, but I guess I have to change it to I will never hit a girl _unless_ she hits me first. And," Kuwabara stated before Kairos got bored and punched his gut once more. Kuwabara groaned on the ground cradling his freshly punched stomach as Kairos continued to walk forward.

            "Learn to state your point quickly," Kairos said over her shoulder. "Cause I have a short attention span when it comes to your speech." Kairos walked past Hiei and saw a slight smirk on his face. 

            "Was beating Kuwabara up necessary?" Botan asked. Kairos shrugged and continued to walk forward. "It's not like he did anything to you!" she shouted and Kairos completely ignored Botan as she walked.

            "You fight dirty," Yusuke commented. "Using Kuwabara's weakness like this, too bad I can't use that weakness."

            "That's nice," Kairos said sighing. "Think whatever you want, but I was teaching Kuwabara a lesson in life."

            "And what was that?" Yusuke asked suddenly intrigued.

            "Don't fight along the lines of chivalry and moral code. Guys aren't the only ones that fight," Kairos stated. "As I have demonstrated here with Kuwabara."

            "Here's my house," Kayko cried out joyously, hoping to end Kairos and Yusuke's conversation. It was a two-floor house with a visible attic and basement, painted white. Everyone followed Kayko into her home and threw their things away her room. "Hey, Kairos are you ok?" she asked referring to the fact that she was moving so much even after she almost died at Kuwabara's house.

            "Yeah," Kairos responded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

            "The near death incident at Kuwabara's house," Botan said sitting down on the couch.

            "Oh, that thing?" Kairos asked taking off the baseball cap. "I'm fine," she said as she began to unwrap the bandages around her scalp.

            "What are you doing?" Kayko asked shocked at Kairos taking off her own bandages. "You aren't supposed to be taking those off!"

            "I'm ok, sheesh," Kairos said. "You worry too much, not even my mother did that when she was alive," When she finished unwrapping the bandages there was no blood gushing out of her scalp, there was no scar where she was bleeding, and there was only tiny visible parts of her hair with dry blood. "I'll take the bandage around my stomach off later. But Kayko, you are really bad at putting on bandages, you know?"

            "Yeah, it was actually the first time I'd ever done that," Kayko admitted.

            "Well, it's _a lot_ better than the first time I tried to bandage myself," Kairos commented laughing at the time when she tried. "I ended up calling for my mom to help me, I was a complete mess, not to mention the blood that was dripping all over. She screamed when she first saw and then eventually realized that I was telling her the truth when I was younger."

            "Truth?" Yusuke asked suddenly interested in the girls' conversation.

            "I never told you guys huh?" Kairos asked. They all shook their heads and Kairos sighed. "I'll tell you guys the entire story some other time but here's the basics. When I was young, my brother and I were playing in a forest. I had wandered off following a little girl with blonde hair in a white dress, and came back to my parents telling them about it. The only way they knew how to shut me up was the prove that I was dreaming and so they went to where the little girl and I had played. They both freaked out because they saw the little girl's dead body along the riverbed. Later they sent me to a mental institute because of things."

            "Man," Yusuke said. "We're hanging out with a mental patient."

            "_Ex_-mental patient," Kairos corrected. "I got released."

            "Still!" Yusuke exclaimed. "We sure do know how to pick friends," he said sighing. Kairos shook her head at Yusuke's latest comment.

            "Why don't we play a game or something?" Kayko asked. "How about a card game?" Botan immediately agreed and the boys hesitated. "I have more than one pack of cards you know." Then Yusuke and Kuwabara began calling out games that wanted to play with Kurama and Hiei. "Kairos you want to play?"

            "Nah," Kairos said. "I'll watch for a few moments, but do you have any paper I can use? A pencil would be nice too," she asked. 

            "Yeah, sure," Kayko said. "I'll be right back." Moments later she came back with two packs of cards and a clipboard with paper and a pencil placed between the board and the clip. Kairos thanked Kayko and they went off playing a game. Kayko and Botan played Crazy Eights, and the boys played Poker. Kairos laughed slightly at the idea that popped into her head. On one sheet, she drew two light sketches of Kayko and Botan playing cards. She looked at it and then ripped the paper off. It fluttered down to the ground and then she began to sketch chibi-Botan and chibi-Kayko playing Crazy Eights. She smiled and added the final touches to the picture. She pulled that sheet off and allowed that to flutter to the ground as she drew the boys playing Poker as their chibi selves. She silently thanked whomever it was who gave her good artistic skills in the anime format when she was born. She pulled off that sheet and then sketched the boys normally playing Poker. However, she wasn't as pleased with the new image as she was with her version of chibi them. She tore that off and then decided to pick up the four pieces of paper she allowed to flutter to the ground before she continued to draw.

            "Cheater!" Yusuke suddenly shouted, catching Kairos completely off guard and she snapped her head up to see what he was talking about. "Hiei! YOU CHEATER!" he yelled.

            "You baka," Hiei said. "I didn't cheat." Kairos saw the expression on his face and decided that she would expand on it to make it a comic anger. She left the papers on the ground and then walked behind Hiei, who was directly across from Yusuke on the coffee table. She knelt and then quickly sketched out Yusuke's face. She drew steam emitting from his ears, a bunch of the little pressure condensed marks shaped like an x on its side with arrows on the four open spaces. She expanded the shape of his nostrils and opened his mouth to an unseemly size. Just for fun she gave him fangs and narrowed the size of his pupils. Laughing, Kairos stopped drawing before she ruined it and walked back to the couch she was on. Yusuke suddenly stopped blaming Hiei and then looked at Kairos. "And what did you just do?" Yusuke asked setting down his cards.

            "Nothing," Kairos said innocently picking up the four pictures from the ground. "Absolutely nothing."

            "Then what's with the papers?" Yusuke asked pointing to the papers.

            "Can't someone use a paper and pencil without getting questioned nowadays?" Kairos asked Yusuke.

            "You know what? Lemme see," Yusuke said getting up from the coffee table.

            "How about no," Kairos shot back. Yusuke then lunged to grab the papers from Kairos and ran straight into the couch. She tapped his shoulder twice and then laughed. "If you want the papers you have best catch me," she said folding the papers and stuffed them into the pocket of her jeans. "Punch me or at least tap my shoulder and I'll let you see the papers but you have to do that first."

            "What? You don't think that I can't?!" Yusuke shouted and lunged for her once more.

            "Actually that's _exactly_ what I think, Yusuke," Kairos said jumping up into the air to avoid being touched. She landed a little way away from Yusuke and then vaulted over him when he lunged once more. "Try and catch me," Kairos dared him.


	4. Only the Beginning of Kayko's Sleepover

Disclaimer: I don't own any Yu Yu Hakusho character! It would be really nice to, but I don't! I don't own any of the songs mentioned in this chapter either.

I do own, however, Kairos…she's my character!

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Chapter 4 – Only the Beginning of Kayko's Sleepover

            Kairos repeatedly dodged Yusuke's reach and then was ordered to bring the little game of tag outside the house by Kayko. What surprised Kairos the most was the fact that Yusuke wouldn't give up on trying to catch her. Twice Kairos had taunted Yusuke about how slow he was and then sat in a tree branch.

            "Come on, Yusuke!" Kairos taunted from the tree branch. "Try and get me! Don't tell me that you can't climb." Yusuke made a snorting sound and then jumped onto the lowest branch. He swung his legs over the branch, after having to swing it back and forth for a while, and then slowly began to ascend. "You are one _slow_ tree climber, Yusuke," Kairos called out when he was about four feet below her. When he became two feet away from her, she jumped down from the tree and landed directly where Yusuke once stood before he began to climb the tree. "See what I mean? Your slow climbing has bored me, and I'm head back in now," she stated turning around and disappeared in the house. When Yusuke finally got down from the tree, and into the house he heard everyone laughing.

            "Hey, what's so funny?" Yusuke asked as he approached the group. Kairos sat a little ways away from them but sat with a slight smirk on her face. She drew her legs closer up to her body and stared off into space. Yusuke approached the group ignoring Kairos completely and looked over Kuwabara's hunched shoulder. He saw a piece of paper with a picture on it. He recognized the basic concept to be his own face, and then noticed that it was greatly exaggerated with anger. "What the hell?!" he shouted at Kairos. "Don't tell me that _you_ drew this shit!" he shouted at her.

            "I'm two feet away Yusuke," Kairos stated softly. "Don't yell. Some people's ears can't take all the abuse at once. And yes, I did draw that and all the others beneath that one."

            "What others?" he demanded and Kairos lifted her chin back to them. He reached over Kuwabara and pulled out the papers that were in his hands. He flipped through the papers and saw images of them chibi-ized and them normally. "Since when could you draw?" he asked.

            "What?" Kairos said offended. "Just because I never tell you guys that I can draw, you guys have to accuse me of being a horrible drawer to begin with?"

            "No," Kurama stated. "Yusuke just jumps to conclusions a lot." 

            "That's nice," Kairos said. "Is there anything that usually happens at one of these _sleepovers_ you people seem to have?"

            "Yeah," Botan replied, excitedly. "Loads of things."

            "You sound like an overexcited toddler," Kairos said covering her ears. "Geez, you guys abuse other people's ears so often."

            "What _do_ you do in your free time, Kairos?" Kayko asked.

            "Draw, read, contact the dead, nothing," Kairos listed.

            "Whoa," Kuwabara said. "Hold up, contact the dead?"

            "Yeah," Kairos replied. "Got a problem with that?"

            "So, do you use a Ouija board?" Yusuke asked.

            "No," Kairos replied, sounding a bit bored.

            "Do you do what you did at Kuwabara's?" Botan asked. Kairos nodded her head and looked at the television screen. "Do you know how dangerous that is?!" she screamed.

            "Actually," Kairos began. "At Kuwabara's was involuntary. The spirit 'possessed' me, for lack of better words. Majority of the time I can control the invasion. It's just that I hadn't expected Kuwabara's home to contain tormented spirits like that. Sides, it didn't leave a mark."

            "What are you talking about?" Kayko asked. "Your skull was bleeding."

            "It _was_, keyword _was_. And there isn't a scar at all, and if you don't believe me come and check," Kairos offered. Kayko got up from the couch and walked over to Kairos. She parted Kairos' hair and blinked twice. She dropped the hair and then parted it once more. 

            "But…" Kayko trailed off. "There…there was blood and a wound…and…and…"

            "It's no big deal," Kairos said. "The only spirit to ever possess me and leave a scar was when I was young. When I was thirteen I had become possessed and I got this scar," she said pulling down the right side of her black shirt. She traced the scar with pointer finger and middle. "It was the only scar that I got and I can't even remember the spirit that did it to me. Or at least I suppressed the image, who knows?" she said rearranging her shirt to what it once was.

            "Why does it seem like there's more to you than you're telling us?" Kurama asked suddenly.

            "I don't know, maybe there is and maybe there isn't," Kairos replied. "I guess you'll find out in due time."

            "Hey, what happened to you in the mental institute?" Hiei asked suddenly remembering what she mentioned earlier.

            "I got diagnosed by a bunch of shrinks and was practically a lab rat. The only thing that made them think I was mental was the fact that I acted the part," she said looking away from the television screen. "It wasn't my fault _exactly_, I mean the damn institute was built on a gallows hill!"

            "Really?" Hiei asked suddenly intrigued by what she just shouted out.

            "Yes, really!" Kairos shot back with a slight anger rising. "There were all these people just asking for my help and then a couple of times at night one or two of them would actually possess me…oh, did I fail to mention that my room was built over one of the gallows themselves?" she asked and got everyone to nod. "Yeah, well, some of them possessed me and they were the ones that got hanged," she said rubbing her neck. "It hurt too, having a noose tied around your neck and then having the floor fly out from under you. Only two people who possessed me actually died from having their necks snap, everyone else suffocated themselves. It was amazing that I came to the next morning," she added.

            "How'd you get out?" Yusuke asked. "I mean, if you were that psycho then why in the world did they let you out?"

            "They didn't," Kairos stated.

            "You're a mental runaway?!" Yusuke shouted. "She was serious earlier! SOMEBODY GET A HOLD OF ANOTHER MENTAL INSTITUTE! WE GOT A RUNAWAY!!!"

            "SHUT UP!" Kairos screamed at him suddenly agitated with his stupidity. "I didn't runaway. The building was burnt to the ground."

            "Do you have any burnt scars from that?" Hiei asked. Kairos shook her head and Hiei responded, "Why is it that I don't believe you?"

            "I personally don't care, whether you believe me or not," Kairos replied. "Can we get off this topic?" she asked suddenly.

            "Is anyone hungry?" Kayko asked in response. A chorus of affirmative responses showered Kayko. "Ok, I'll go get something," she said disappearing.

            "Why don't I help?" Botan asked rushing after Kayko.

            _They left me here on purpose._ Kairos thought dropping her chin into her right palm. They sat in the living room in utter silence and Kairos walked over to the pile of paper that she was using earlier. She picked up the pencil that sat on the coffee table and plopped down next to Kurama since he was next to her papers. She slowly began to sketch out random images of things that floated through her mind. When she finished, she lifted the pencil up and looked down at the paper. In tiny intricate designs, two words were formed each clear and precise, and she dropped the papers from her grip.

HELP ME

            The way the words were formed on the paper told her that it wasn't something that she could have done. Her brother had been able to draw tiny, detailed things like that, and no matter how hard she had tried, Kairos was never able to get that technique down. _He's not gone yet._ Kairos thought as she looked down at the papers that were now on the floor. 

            "Kairos? Are you ok?" Kurama asked concerned when he noticed that her expression resembled that of fear and joy. "Hello?" he said waving a hand in front of her face when she didn't respond. _He's live! Xantar's alive! _Kairos thought and snapped back to reality with Kurama's hand in front of her face.

            "What?" she asked him as he continued to wave his hand in front of her.

            "I was just wondering if you were ok," Kurama said. "You looked a little bit…out of it," he continued trying to figure out the right words to say.

            "What's this?" Yusuke asked as he picked up the papers and set down his cards from a game of goldfish with Kuwabara. Yusuke raised an eyebrow and Kairos looked at him, telling him not to even bother to ask about the paper. Kairos glanced up at the clock mounted on the wall and was surprised to see that it was only 4:20.

            "Is there anything to do here?" Kairos asked. "I'm getting a bit bored."

            "How about we listen to music?" Kuwabara asked pulling the cards together.

            "HEY!" Yusuke shouted. "Why you'd do that?! Just because I was winning doesn't mean you have to go and clean up the moment I turn my back!" he shouted at him as Kuwabara turned on the stereo system by the television.

            "What the hell is this shit?" Kairos asked as Toxicity by System of a Down came blasting through the speakers.

            "Music," Kuwabara replied

            "No, it ain't!" Kairos yelled as the music was pumped louder and louder. "THIS IS THE KIND OF MUSIC WHERE EVERYONE DROPS DEAD AND DIES TO!" Kairos shouted and covered her ears as the loud singers voice came on. "CHANGE IT!" she screeched pressing her hands firmly over her ears. "CHANGE IT!!!" Kurama jumped up from the couch and paused the song.

            "When did you put this in?" Kurama asked.

            "I left it in there last time I came over to visit," Kuwabara answered.

            "Why don't we listen to something where people won't drop dead after three seconds of the song," Kairos asked everyone.

            "And what are we supposed to listen to?" Hiei asked with an icy tone.

            "Something other than what Kuwabara listens to obviously," Kairos stated watching Hiei with the same icy glare that he was giving her. The fire apparition marched right up to Kairos and continued to look her right in the eye. "Got a problem with it?" she said in a menacing manner as Hiei continued to glare at her. 

            "Break it up you two," Kurama said playing referee. "We don't need a fight to occur." But the two continued to stare each other down, and Kurama sighed. He walked over to the two and parted them. Kurama turned Kairos around and pushed her onto the couch, then did the same to Hiei. "I don't know why the two of you do this," he spoke aloud to nobody in particular.

            "Then stop playing referee, fox," Hiei hissed.

            "If we have issues, I think we can solve them in our own ways," Kairos said with venom in her voice. She thought of the times when the shrinks treated her like a child that couldn't do anything and loathed the way that she wasn't allowed to handle anything alone. She gave Hiei one last glare and then turned away. "I'm not a damn child, that needs to be pulled away from everything. I got enough shit like that from the shrinks."

            "Drinks, anyone?" Botan asked emerging from the kitchen with bottles of soda in hand. She handed one to everyone and backed out of the room when she noticed the hostility on Kairos and Hiei's faces. Moments later Kayko and Botan both came out, cautiously, with junk food.

            Forty minutes later, everyone, except Hiei, was talking a bit more freely the junk food was laid out on the table. Popping another piece of popcorn into her mouth Kairos asked, "Is there anything that you guys do here?"

            "Well, we could do some karaoke," Kayko said. "I got a karaoke machine from my dad on my birthday."

            "Oh, no," Yusuke groaned.

            "What was that, Yusuke?" Kayko asked the way she always did right before she was going to hurt him.

            "Nothing," Yusuke replied, sighing. Kayko disappeared down the hall and then came back down carrying a pink box.

            "My, god, what is it?" Kairos asked as she poked at the pink box while Kayko plugged it into the TV.

            "My karaoke machine," Kayko replied easily.

            "Ok, now I'm scared," Kairos said walking back to her seat, shaking. "I get possessed by spirits and I'm fine. Then the moment I see a _pink_ karaoke machine I start to quiver."

            "You should have seen Hiei's reaction when he first saw it," Kurama stated, trying to make Kairos feel more comfortable.

            "What _did_ he do?" Kairos asked in curiosity with what the short guy did.

            "He did more…umm….drastic things than quiver," Kurama said trying to figure out how to explain Hiei with his katana out trying to slash the machine into millions of little pieces.

            "He tried to destroy my karaoke machine," Kayko said bluntly in a teary voice.

            "Maybe I should do that," Kairos thought aloud, then laughed at the idea and at Kayko who hugged the machine protectively. "Whatever," Kairos said brushing the idea away. "I'm not serious, man, you don't have to hug the karaoke machine. 'Sides, what CDs do you have for it?"

            "These," Kayko said releasing her grip around the machine and picked up an armful of CDs. "Why don't you sing first, Kairos? I'll pick the song for you."

            "Why do I _not_ like this idea?" Kairos stated walking over and grabbed the microphone attached to the machine. She tried to pull it further away from the television screen but found that the line only went a few feet out. "This sucks," she said resigned with the length and sat down. "What song are you putting on?" Kairos asked eyeing Kayko and Botan giggling as they picked the CD.

            "Do you mind singing two songs?" Botan asked. "We can't decide."

            "Ok," Kairos said unsure whether that was the best of ideas.

            "Here," Kayko said, popping a CD into the machine.

_Rain on Me _by Ashanti

            "I like this song," Kairos said as the text began to fade away. She began to make the continuous humming sound with the music that was there but not put on the lyrics. Then she actually began to sing the song. Almost five minutes later Kairos set down the microphone and opened her eyes. She hadn't known that she had shut her eyes as she sang but turned around and looked. Kairos was surprised, because the others weren't laughing their heads off.

            "First, we learn that you can draw, _and_ now we learn that you can _sing _too," Yusuke said in complete awe.

            "I picked it up when I was in the institute. They wanted the patients to do something creative so I took up singing," Kairos said offhandedly.

            "You have to sing this one," Botan said in an almost giddy tone.

_Shout It Loud_ by Scudelia Electro

            "That's one of my favorite opening anime songs," Kairos stated with a slight cheer in her voice. Everyone stared at her as the beginning of the song began to play from the speakers. "What? Let me guess, you guys don't believe that I listen to this stuff right? Well, I do. I listen to a bunch of things," she said to them before beginning to sing the song. "Taikutsu na yoru ni taikutsu na asa wo  matsu koto wa naino sa, ashita wo tobikousu hanetsuki de SHUUZU de  isoge hayaku!" she sang with the gang staring at her in disbelief. About five minutes later she sang the last verse of the song, "Asayake no machi  miorosu toki  kono hitotoki, azayaka naru hi  kimi to hashiru,  kimi to hashiru." Kairos then handed the microphone over to Kayko who sat to her left. "Your turn," she said almost in a casual whispered voice.


End file.
